STOCKTON - A judge ordered a Lathrop man accused of killing his wife with a screwdriver to stand trial for murder after a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Defendant Charlie Dumlao's aunt, Loida Pulido, recounted during the hearing that Dumlao called her in the middle of the night Aug. 12 to say, "Auntie, I killed Gene Gene now," referring to his wife, 43-year-old Evangeline Dumlao.

"I was screaming," Pulido said, her lips trembling as she wiped tears from her eyes. Superior Court Judge Richard Mallet assured her it was best to keep testifying so that it could be over quickly.

Another phone call came through - this one from Dumlao's 7-year-old daughter.

The girl said, "Tita Loida please, please help me," according to Pulido.

Deputy Jeff Watson, who was the first to arrive on the scene, testified that the older child cried out for help from the family's upstairs apartment window.

After breaking through the door, deputies found Evangeline Dumlao's body on a mattress on the floor. She was not breathing and she had no pulse. Charlie Dumlao, 38, was crouched over her body,

Photographs on a projector screen in court showed the oldest child's neck with a puncture wound and a laceration.

The Dumlaos' 8-month-old daughter, who was crawling over her mother's body when deputies arrived, also had injuries to her neck, photos showed.

Deputies found a "long" flathead screwdriver they believe was used to inflict the wounds at the base of the bed where the woman's body lay, Watson said.

Charlie Dumlao's defense attorney has argued that he suffers from a mental disability. In 2005, he endured a head injury on the job that disabled him.

Although two court-appointed doctors determined he was not competent to stand trial, a jury recently lifted the suspension on criminal charges by finding him competent.

Dumlao is to be tried for first-degree murder and attempted murder of his two children. He will be arraigned in May.